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Falco da Padova
Falco da Padova is a main character from the Secrets of the Eternal Rose trilogy by Fiona Paul. He is a love interest of the main character, Cassandra 'Cass' Caravello, whom he meets on the day of Liviana Greco's funeral. Charming, witty, mischievous and sarcastic, Falco is the bad boy of the trilogy, and plays a major role in all three books. He is first introduced in Venom and will make his final appearence on March 20th 2014 when Starling is released. Background Early Life Falco da Padova was born in a small village outside of Padua, Italy to a washerwoman mother and a cobbler father. He has many brothers and two little sisters. When he was younger, he was friends with a girl named Ghita from his village. He admits that she was his first kiss (and first love) at thirteen, however their relationship only lasted a year due to the plague which killed many people in their village-including Ghita. At age fourteen, and heartbroken, Falco leaves his tiny village for Venice, as it seemed like a fitting place for aspiring artists.* He becomes an aprentice of Tomaso Vecellio while living in Venice; Tomaso is a descendent of Titian, one of the most famous Venetian artists of all time. He also has a part-time job with his friends Paolo, Nicholas and Etienne, working for Angelo de Gradi. In Belladonna, we learn that he works for the leader of the Order of the Eternal Rose, Signorina Bella 'Belladonna' Briani. Venom At the age of seventeen, he met his current love interest, Cassandra Caravello, whom he affectionally nicknames "Starling". At first, he finds her amusing, but later on grows to love her. The two first meet after Cass wanders away from her friend's funeral and bumps into Falco-literally. They later meet the same night in the graveyard on San Domenico that is attatched to her aunt's estate; there, Cass and Falco discover a dead courtesan in Livi's crypt, and figure out there is a murderer on the loose in Venice. The next evening, Cass and Falco meet again and she tells him that she recieved a note from the killer. The two decide to search for clues of the murderer, and soon find themselves in Angelo de Grandi's workshop, which is full of dead body parts. Scared and surprised at their findings, Falco tries his best to convince Cass's to let go of searching for Livi's body and focus on the killer. The next evening, Cass disguses herself as a courtesan and goes with Falco to the brothels of San Domenico to look for clues. Instead of finding the killer, they learn the dead girl's name, Mariabella, and that the girl worked for Joseph Dubois, a very powerful French man in Venice. Later that night, Falco tries to kiss her, but Cass rejects him. Upset, he tells her to do what she feels as right, and in response, takes off her whalebone stays which have been restricting her. He tries to kiss her again, but is interupted by the late hour. He takes her home in a sour mood and takes her handkerchief as a token. Two nights later, the two go to a ball hosted by Joseph Dubois. Before they leave, Cass learns from her hand maid, Siena, that a maid has gone missing from his estate: Sophia. Falco and Cass try to question Dubois, but both get side tracked: Cass ends up dancing with a mysterious man in a falcon mask who scares her by hinting that she was there with someone other than her fiance and saying "Faites attention" which means "be careful" in French; Falco, on the other hand, is confronted by Angelo de Gradi while trying to fish information from Dubois. They leave the party and head to Tomaso's studio when it starts to rain. There, Falco paints a portrait of Cass and the two share their first kiss. They spend the night together after Cass passes out from drinking Tomaso's homemade ale and hallucinating, and Cass promises to meet him later that night. At the taverna, Il Mar e la Spada (the Sea and the Sword), we learn that Falco is only helping Cass search for Livi's body to spend time with her. The two kiss, but Cass stops and confesses that she is engaged to her childhood friend, Luca de Peraga, who is currently studying law in France. Falco replies by telling her that he knew, since it would be very odd that a noblewoman with her age and beauty wouldn't be engaged. Cass is disgusted with Falco; she draws to the conclusion that he only wants a one night stand with her. Falco tells her that it would be worth risking his life to have one night with her, seeing as it would be the only way they could be together; he too is aware of their situation. After their conversation, Cass sees a dead body of a woman: Sophia the servant. Distraught, Cass runs away from Falco who tries to calm her down. When she tries to find him, she discovers him arguing with Angelo de Gradi, and confronts him about lying to her. Falco admits he lied, but tells her that he isn't the murderer and that he cannot fully explain for her actions. The next day, Cass sends a message to Falco via Paolo, who congradulates her own her nuptials and reassures her that Falco does not mind. Falco meets Cass in the garden and promises to tell her everything if she gives him two days. Upset, Cass questions why she should trust him, and Falco admits: he is falling in love with her. He tells her that he wants her to be his, and asks her to forget the engagement. Ovewhelmed, Cass begins to cry and tells Falco she gives him two days, and promises to meet him at the Pillars of Justice. She later makes her way back home where Agnese discovers her gone and replaces her maid Siena (her confidant and who is aware of her being with Falco at night) with Narissa, to keep a close eye on her. A night later, Cass gets Narissa drunk so she could escape her aunt's house a deliver a message to Falco, saying that she won't be able to meet him at the Pillars, and for him to show up to the gardens if he wants to explain. Cass heads to the taverna and gives it to the keeper to give to Falco. On her way back, she goes to the chapel where Falco and Angelo were talking about. There, she sees Falco carrying a body out (with the help of his friends), and she screams in terror and runs away. The next day, Cass gets a surprise visitor: Luca, her fiance. For four days, she stays in her room, depressed, until her best friend, Mada, comes to draw her out. She confesses to Mada that she's been seeing Falco, and is confused now that Luca is back. Mada listens to her friend, and tells her she understands: she admits that she used to find flaws with her fiance Marco on purpose when they first got engaged. She tells Cass that she too was afraid of letting her heart go, but let eventually accepted that Marco was a good-hearted man and that she was the bad person in their engagement. Mada tells Cass to start letting Luca into her life as a fiance, and think of everything with Falco as 'practice'. While she is alone with her thoughts, Luca joins her, where she finds herself taking Mada's advice and realizes that he is a good fiance, and that she can learn to let go of Falco. Her happy mood is diminished when she brings the topic of the murderer in Venice, and Luca loses his temper. That night, instead of Falco meeting her in the garden, she is met by Paolo, who tells her that Falco isnt a bad person and gives her a package with a note. The package is her painting, and a note from Falco telling her he is geniuenly sorry. Falco writes to her, confessing that yes, he stole Livi's body, yes, he knows Angelo de Gradi and that he was working for him. He explains to her that he took Livi's body out of the grave for scientific purposes (as with the other bodies he stole), which is what Angelo claimed to use the bodies for; he didnt know that he kept them in jars. He tells he did what he did for the money; he entered in a contest run by Don Loredan, and the entry fee was steep. Falco tells her he did it for the money but mostly for the art. He continues to say that he is truly sorry, and that he doesn't want Cass to think of him as a monster. He ends the note by saying the paint is a wedding gift, and how it was foolish for him to think that they could ever be together. The next day is Mada's wedding, and Cass finds herself learning the shocking truth: Cristian de Lambert, Mada's friend, is the murderer. While being held hostage, Cristian admits that he is Luca's half-brother, he works for Joseph Dubois, and that he killed both Mariabella and Sophia. He tries to kill her, but she is saved by Luca. After they escape, Cass is left in a room while Luca tires to find a doctor for her, confused and upset at him for not telling the men that found them what had really happened. Falco then appears, dressed as a servant, and she confesses what she learned: Cristian is the killer and he worked with Dubois. Mariabella was killed by Cristian out of jealousy, as he didnt like her close relationship with Dubois; Sophia was killed because Dubois ordered him to, since she was pregnant with his child and he wanted nothing to do with the both of them. Falco comforts Cass, and asks her about her thoughts of his letter; she tells him that she forgives him, and Falco admits that he stole Livi's body and has no idea where it went. He then tells her that his paintings won the contest by Don Loredan, and that he will soon have his own patrons. However, he tells her that it would mean relocation far from Venice-and her. In one last feeble attempt, Falco tires to convince Cass to run away with him, but they are interupted by a servant. A few days later, Cass and Luca are out for a walk in San Domenico. Luca asks if she is aware of the Order of the Eternal Rose, but quickly changes the topic. He explains to her that Cristian is his half-brother that would not get any of his wealth when they married; he says that is one of many reasons why he does not like him. Luca says that he is hell-bent on making his life miserable, even going as far as killing Diana, Luca's sister (and by default, his half-sister) by drowning her at the age of seven. Luca asks Cass if she would marry him and live with him in France as he finish his studies, but she is unable to answer as she sees Falco, who witnesses the exchange before going to a gondola, ready to leave. In the last chapter, we learn that Cass does not take up any of their offers. The book ends with Cass explaining that she denied both of the boys on their requests because she can't abandon her only family left: Aunt Agnese. Belladonna In the beginning of the book, Cass has a dream where Falco has gone back to her, which quickly morphs into a nightmare where she is about to be murderer by Cristian. She wakes up, and reads the only letter Falco has sent her since he left, which she has memorized by heart. Cass leaves her room to find that her fiance, Luca, is being arrested for reasons unknown. She later learns that he was arrested for false charges of heresy and faces execution. Bribing a jailor, she goes to see Luca. Luca tells her about the Order of the Eternal Rose and that there are documents that say they have done many illegal crimes. Cass tricks her aunt to let her go to Florence with Mada, her husband Marco, and her father, Signore Rambaldo, the home of the Order and the book that may be Luca's ticket to freedom. In Florence, she discovers that the city is obsessed with public executions of women deemed as vampires. She runs into Falco, who tells her that his patron is Belladonna, a leader of a secret group called the Order of the Eternal Rose; he explains to her that she runs a group of people who dare defy the Church and call science their religion. While in the streets, she witnesses the murder of Donna Hortensa Zanotta, a lady she met while having tea at Donna Domacetti's plazzo in Venom. The next day, Cass and Mada are invited to Bella 'Belladonna' Briani's estate for tea. While there, Bella shows Cass a painting made by Falco, which she quickly recognizes is the same pose that she had when he painted her in Tomaso's studio-the night they first kissed. Afterwards, she is in a very upset mood. She goes to Villa Briani once again, and there, she is attacked by wild dogs, but is saved by Piero Basso, Bella's physican. Cass discovers that Piero has been stealing blood from Florentine women and denouncing them to the Church as vampires. She learns she is being kept as a prisoner and is having her blood drained for the Order's secret experiments, but Cass manages to escape before Luca's scheduled execution. Before she leaves, she tries to send Falco a goodbye letter, but finds him in a compromising position with Bella. She leaves the estate, with Falco trying to follow her. While in Venice, she and Siena plan Luca's escape. Siena gets a map of where Luca is to be executed from someone who used to like her sister. While planning, Cass contemplates the danger she is putting Siena in, feeling guilty that she is putting her at risk, and that her maid is only doing this because she is in love with Luca. At the end of the book, Siena dies while they break Luca out. Cass and Luca are reunited and say that they love each other, but are deemed as fugitives in Venice. Starling In the final book, Falco will play a major role. : "In the stunning conclusion to the Secrets of the Eternal Rose trrlogy, there is nothing more dangerous that a secret closely kept… Cass and Luca are fugitives, on the run from the law and the deadly Order of the Eternal Rose. As they separate to pursue the only evidence that could save them, their worlds—and their romance—are torn apart by spiteful friends and murderous enemies. When Cass finds herself ensnared in the Order’s twisted plot, Falco emerges once again as her only hope for freedom. But it turns out Luca has a shocking scheme of his own. From ancient mercenaries to sly magicians, from clever courtesans to vengeful killers, no one can be trusted. In the breathtaking conclusion to the Secrets of the Eternal Rose trilogy, Cass must confront the Order and once and for all decide her destiny. Who will fly beside her when she finally finds her wings? This historical romantic thriller is perfect for fans of Philippa Gregory's The Other Boleyn Girl, Anna Godberson's The Luxe, and Libba Bray's A Great and Terrible Beauty ''and ''The Diviners." (From Amazon.com) In the first chapter of the book**, it is revealed that despite admitting to love Luca, she cannot stop thinking of Falco Physical Appearance According to Cass in Venom, Falco is described as: : "had dark brown hair that curled under at the ends and eyes as blue as the Adriatic. His smile tilted a little to the right. It was the smile of someone who lived getting into trouble." In addition, Falco has a small scar underneath his right eye. : "A friend dared me to dive into the canals when I first came to town. i had no idea how challow they were." He rubbed at the scar. "Obviously." Relationships 'Ghita: '''Ghita is a girl from Falco's village and childhood friend. According to Falco, she was an unusual girl, much like Cass. He says that she was a good artist, and that he helped her make her drawings look life like. Ghita was Falco's first love and kiss. She died when he was fourteen. According to Fiona Paul, we will be learning more about her in ''Starling. 'Cassandra 'Cass' Caravello (also known as Starling): '''A noblewoman by birth, Falco and Cass don't meet until they are seventeen and fifteen. Falco first meets Cass in ''Venom, after she wanders from her friends funeral, and later again in the graveyard outside her aunt's house. The two are partners searching for clues in the beginning in the novel, but later on develop mutual feelings for each other. While Falco admits to want Cass as more than a muse and a one night stand, she is still hesitant. Their relationship is strained due not only to their social standings and Cass's engagement to her childhood friend, Luca de Peraga, but Cass's good conscience: she has lost both her parents and does not want to lose her aunt, her only family, by running away. In Belladonna, her relationship with Falco gets much more complicated; she is there to save her fiance's life, and later on admits to love him Luca. In Starling, we will finally learn whether she will chose to be with Luca or Falco. Category:Main Characters Category:Characters